Proper
Character Usage
This page will show how to use all the game characters effectively
by showing the way I've played them and found them to work best. This
is by no means how how you *Must* play them. These are just suggestions.
I made this page because of all the people who don't like to give
characters (Especially Haer'Dalis and Cernd) a chance because they
think these characters suck.
I'm gonna upgrade the way I put this info by putting equipment, strategies
and other bonuses to having the character in categories.

AerieComplaints: She whines and isn't as good a spellcaster.
- She may not have perfect intelligence and wisdom but she is still a
good spellcaster and has the most spells compared to the other game character.Equipment:- I advise you to equip her with a one handed weapon,
a sling and a shield so you can maximize her AC and protection although
you may also prefer Staff Of The Magi.- Give her with a Small Shield +2 because you can find
them early in the game (Like the party in the Sewers at the Temple District).
You can then upgrade as necessary. The Shield Of Harmony +2 is useful
because it protects her from mind spells and gives her the same protection
as a Small Shield +2.
- There are many good one handed melee weapons you can give her. You're
probably not gonna melee with her a lot so you can give her Mauler's Arm
+2 which will increase her strength to 18 and you can find it early in
the game. Gnasher +2 is good also. The Defender Of Easthaven (Joluv the
bonus merchant) will give her +1 AC and some resistances. The Flail of
Ages and Crom Faeyr are also great items if no one else in your party
are not using them.- In the early part of the game you can give her a Sling
+1 or +2. If you have money, you can buy her the Sling Of Everard +5 (No
stones needed) from Joluv the bonus merchant . Arla's Dragonbane and the
Sling Of Arvoreen are also great items.- The Helm of Glory, Helm of Brilliance, Helmet of Defense
are all great helms for her. In ToB you'll get the Bronze Ioun Stone (Extra
7th level spell), Circlet of Netheril (Extra 7th and 8th level spells
and +10 HP), Golden Ioun Stone (+1 Intelligence) and Silver Ioun Stone
(+1 Wisdom). Choose what you think is best. The Circlet of Netheril is
best in my opinion.- The Gloves Of Orge power (18/00 Strength) is what I
usually equip her with and you should also unless you have someone else
in your party who will better gain from them. Also try Bracers of Archery
for her sling usage unless you don't have anything better for your archer
character(s).- The Robe Of Venca is a must have for her (Diedre the
bonus merchant). It will give her better AC, decrease casting time and
+10 MR. Roleplayers might have a problem with giving this evil item to
good Aerie. The chooice is up to you.
- The Ring Of Acuity and Ring Of Wizardry will add a bunch of spells to
her repertoire.
- As a Cleric, she will gain a Holy Symbol at level 25 (Extra level 6
and level 7 spell, +5 Magic Resistance, +1 Strength) in ToB which can
be worn as a Ring.- I usually give her the Belt Of Fortitude (Increase Constitution
to 18 once per day) because her constitution sucks and sometimes she can
benefit from the HP raise.- The Cloak of Deflection will complete her as an excellent
spellcaster. Also try the Cloak Of Reflection.Battle Strategies:- Keep her in the back with a sling and spells. Her HP isn't great
because she's a Mage with low constitution.
Her ability to use Mage items will also benefit her Cleric spell casting
(Decreased spell casting time etc).
- Avoid giving her spells like Blur and other personal defensive spells
because you'll find yourself not casting them and wasting spell slots
(Unless you're playing a smaller party).
- Always keep a Stoneskin or so just in case you need to fight with her
(Mage/Mage battles etc) or if enemies are around her.
-Some must have mage spells: Magic Missile, Chromatic Orb, Dispel Magic,
Fireball, Greater Malison, Stoneskin, Spell Immunity, Chain Lightning,
True Sight, Mordenkainen's Sword
- Recommended Mage Spells: Resist Fear, Flame Arrow, Melf's Minute Meteors,
Skull Trap, Slow, Chaos, Cloudkill (Or use a wand instead of wasting a
spell slot), Pierce Magic, Improved Haste (Extra attacks per round for
fighters), Protection From Magical Energy, Tenser's
Transformation (If you have a smaller party), Pierce Shield, Gate (Smaller
party), Shapechange (Smaller party).
-Some must have cleric spells: Bless, Chant, Dispel Magic, Holy Smite,
Defensive Harmony (-2 AC to party members who are close and the spell
is cumulative),Cure Critical Wounds, Mass Cure,
True Seeing (Like True Sight), Bolt Of Glory, Heal, Creeping Doom.
- Recommended Cleric Spells: Cure Light Wounds, Aid, Silence 15' Radius,
Cure Medium Wounds, Miscast Magic, Remove Paralysis, Cure Medium Wounds,
Call Woodland Beings (She has some good spells), Cure Serious Wounds,
Negative Plane Protection (For Undead), Poison, Protection From Evil 10'
Radius, Chaotic Commands, Flame Strike, Insect Plague, Iron Skins (Just
like Stoneskin), Symbol Stun, Symbol Fear.Other Stuff:- She is a romance option for male main characters (Any
race but Half-Orc or Gnome). She's also incredibly cute.

Haer'DalisComplaints: He's not a good anything and is very
flowery
- Bards are a balance between everything. They have some spell casting
ability, not as great as a Mage and some fighting ability, not as great
as a fighter. They are balanced characters. A good way to to look at them
is to perceive them as Fighter/Mages. Equipment:
- Try to give him a proficiency in Katana and buy him Dak'kon's Zerth
Blade from Diedre the bonus merchant because it gives him extra spells
and gives +1 to AC.
- You can also give him Celestial Fury if you give him the Katana proficiency.
- His short sword Entropy is really good especially in the earlier stages
of the game. It's +2 and does extra damage by the round.
- Kundane +2 is a nice short sword you get early in the game. It gives
an extra attack per round and you can dual wield it with his Entropy sword
for three attacks per round.
- Another thing I'm trying with my Blade is to give him a point in Scimitar
and give him Blem +2. You'll get three attacks per round. With Use Any
Item (ToB) he will be able to use the Scarlet Ninja-To (Monk only weapon,
+1 attack per round, 6 HP poison per round for 2 rounds, buy from Joluv
the bonus merchant) which will give him a total of four attacks with poison
damage.
- When doing his planar quest, you'll come across the Melodic Chain (A
Bard only armor) which gives him very nice armor class and spell casting
ability while wearing it.
- There are many strength girdles so you might wanna give him a Girdle
Of X Giant Strength to get some extra damage bonuses.
- Unless you have a Mage in your party, give him the Ring Of Acuity for
some extra spells.
- The Ring Of Earth Control will improve his AC by 1
- You may want to give him the Ring Of The Ram instead. This is perfect
if he need some room to cast another spell or two because it will knock
back an enemy far from him and give him time to cast a few spells or drink
a healing potion.
- There are many helms and Ioun Stones which will be good for him. The
Helm Of Balduran is excellent but you may be using it on your fighter.
The Helm of Brilliance will give him a few special ability spells. Also
try the Helm Of Glory (+1 AC, +1 Charisma)
- In ToB you'll get the Wonderous Gloves for Bards which gives him extra
spells and improved his THAC0 and AC by 1.Battle Strategies:- If you don't think he's a good fighter, you can always keep him
back with darts/bows/crossbows because he has 17 Dexterity.
- Try to get three points in dual wield as soon as possible. You can use
long and short swords until you get another proficiency point to put in
Katana or Scimitar and use the equipment strategies above.
- Use his Offensive Spin for an extra attack per round with THAC0 bonuses
or Defensive Spin to set his AC to -10 and hold off enemies.
- Use Defensive Spin in conjunction with the Ring Of Free Action to move
around while getting the -10 AC bonus (Thanks Mordred).
- The spell Tenser's Transformation in one of the best spells for him
to use because it turns him into a real fighter
- Have Stoneskins and Mirror Images so you can get some good damage in
before monsters can even get a hit in.
- Blur is also a good spell for him because it lowers his AC by 3 and
it's cumulative.
- As a Bard, Haer'Dalis will gain abilities like Enhanced Bard Song in
ToB (+10 to his AC and +4 to party members AC, +4 to hit, +4 to damage,
Immunity to normal weapons, Immunity to Fear, Stun and Confusion and +10%
Magic Resistance to all party members).
- He can also set high level traps with no penalties in ToB.
- He can also use the skill Use Any Item in ToB which allows him to use
any item available in the game (Fighter only items for example).Other Stuff:- He has great lore (No need to memorize Identify spells or use money
in stores to identify items).
- He is a good conversationalist to have in the party and will make for
enhanced role playing if you're into it.
- He also has a mini romance with Aerie if you have both of them in the
team.
- If you're into Gothic, try him in your party.

CerndComplaints: He's weak, and he can't wear armor.
Cernd is excellent in the fact that he can cast a huge number of Priest
spells and can also transform and become a fighter (Werewolf, Greater
Wolfwere) indefinitely.Equipment:
- He comes with the Staff Of The High Forest which is good during the
beginning of the game. It's +2 and lets him regenerate 1 HP every 12 seconds.
- Other good staves for him: Staff Of Fire, Staff Of Air, Staff Of Earth
because of their summoning capabilities and other bonuses.
- There is also the Staff Of Thunder And Lightning which will give him
some lightning spells.
- Later in the game you'll get The Staff Of The Woodlands +4, a Druid
only weapon. It gives him a +3 AC bonus, summoning spells and other bonuses.
- There are many non-staff weapons you can give him but I feel the staves
give him more non-combat bonuses. I'm sure you won't be using him as a
front-line fighter in his normal form. You can try Gnasher +2 Club, Blem
+2 Scimitar, Blackblood +3 Club and The Root Of The Problem Club. In ToB
you can try the Club Of Detonation, Yamato +4 (+1 AC), The Serpent Shaft
and The Staff Of The Ram.
- You should also equip him with a Sling +1 or +2. If you have money,
you can buy her the Sling Of Everard +5 (No stones needed) from Joluv
the bonus merchant . Arla's Dragonbane and the Sling Of Arvoreen are also
great items.
- You can get Bracers Of Defense early in the game. They will lower his
AC to an acceptable number. Later in the game you can give him the Bracers
Of Archery for his sling usage or keep the Bracers Of Defense if you prefer.
- If no one else needs it, give him the Gauntlets Of Dexterity to improve
his very low dexterity. This will give him bonuses to his AC and sling
usage.
- For helms, there are several you can give him. I recommend a Helmet
Of Defense, the Dusty Rose Ioun Stone or Helm Of Brilliance. In ToB you'll
get the Silver Ioun Stone which will increase his Wisdom by 1 and giving
him more spell slots.
- A Ring Of Protection will benefit him and you'll probably have a few
by the time you meet him.
- Give him the Ring Of Invisibility because there will be times when you
will want him out of the way if an enemy is near him.
- In ToB you'll get the Heartwood Ring which will give him an extra 6th
and 7th level spell.
- He comes with the Cloak Of The High Forest (+1 AC, +1 Saving Throws).
Keep this on him. There is no better cloak that you wouldn't want to put
on your front-line fighters and other characters.
- There are many Girdle Of X Giant Strength in the game. Give him one.Battle Strategies:- As a Shapeshifter, he's not supposed to be able to wear armor and
therefore he has a bad AC. This means you just have to keep him back with
a sling and let him use his Druid spells.
- He will get many Wolfwere (Strength: 19, Dexterity 16, Constitution
15, Attacks Per Round: 2, MR: 20, AC: -4) and Greater Wolfwere (Strength:
21, Dexterity 20, Constitution 25, Attacks Per Round: 3, MR: 40 and bonus
elemental resistances, AC: -13) forms so you can use these to make him
a fighter. He can stay in these forms indefinitely.
- He can regenerate when in Greater Wolfwere form. His staff also lets
him regenerate while he's wielding it so just switch to his staff when
you're not fighting or when you're about to rest your characters.
- He will get a great amount of spells so you can make him the only healer
in your party.
- Spells such as Defensive Harmony, Heal, Chant, Bless, Creeping Doom
and Summon Elemental are great party helpers.
- With ToB he will gain the Druid level bonuses (Immunity to Poison etc).
He will also get the high level abilities and you can choose Elemental
Transformations (Earth Elemental and Fire Elemental) for him, making him
a really good shapeshifting character.
Other Stuff:
- He has a quest in Athkatla. Go to Waukeen's Promenade.

NaliaComplaints: She's not a good enough ThiefDon't think of Nalia as a bad Thief but as a really good
Mage who can use a bow.Equipment: - Her melee weapon is up to you but I advise you to give
her something with extra abilities like the Staff of Air/Fire/Earth which
can summon elementals.
- Using a Bow, she can get 2 attacks per round and since she has 18 Dexterity
she will get a +4 bonus using a Bow. Tuigan Bow +1 is a good Bow for her
(3 attacks per round) which you can get really early in the game until
you can give her something better like Tansheron's Bow or Gesen Bow.
- There are several robes which are excellent for her. Robe Of Venca is
the best but if you have it on someone already then you can give her the
Robe Of The Good Archmagi. In the Underdark you can give her a Drow Elven
Chain which decreases spell casting, gives 5% MR and good AC.
- You may want to give her Bracers of Defense until you can find something
better like the Bracers Of Archery (For her bow usage).
- With the official patch, Thieves can wear Ioun Stones as they were supposed
to so you can equip her with Pearly White Ioun Stone, Dusty Rose Ioun
Stone, Thief's Hood (ToB, Immune to Poison and Backstab, True Sight three
times a day), Circlet Of Netheril (ToB, Extra 7th and 8th level spells,
+10 HP) or Golden Ioun Stone (ToB, +1 Intelligence)
- For a necklace, try the Amulet Of Power, Amulet Of +5 Magic Resistance,
Metaspell Influence Amulet or Amulet Of The Master Harper (+3 AC, +20
to Find Traps and Pick Locks, Immune to Silence).
- Her ring gives her 50% fire protection, +2 to all saves and +2 AC.
- You can give her the Ring Of Wizardry, Ring Of Acuity or Ring Of Lock
Picking if she's the only Thief in your party.
- There are many Girdles Of X Giant Strength. You can give her one of
these as your game progresses.
- The Cloak Of Elvenkind will give her Hide In Shadows bonuses and is
useful if she's the only Thief in your party. Also try the Cloak Of Mirroring
and Cloak Of Reflection.
- Keep a few Potions Of Master Thievery, Potions Of Mind Focusing and
Potions Of Perception with you in case you can't open a lock or something
and you can use her as the only Thief in your party.Battle Strategies:
- You will want to keep her at the back with a Bow as mentioned above
and her spells.
- Avoid giving her spells like Blur and other personal defensive spells
because you'll find yourself not casting them and wasting spell slots
(Unless you're playing a smaller party).
- Always keep a Stoneskin or so just in case you need to fight with her
(Mage/Mage battles etc) or if enemies are around her.
-Some must have mage spells: Magic Missile, Chromatic Orb, Dispel Magic,
Fireball, Greater Malison, Stoneskin, Spell Immunity, Chain Lightning,
True Sight, Mordenkainen's Sword
- Recommended Mage Spells: Resist Fear, Flame Arrow, Melf's Minute Meteors,
Skull Trap, Slow, Chaos, Cloudkill (Or use a wand instead of wasting a
spell slot), Pierce Magic, Improved Haste (Extra attacks per round for
fighters), Protection From Magical Energy, Tenser's
Transformation (If you have a smaller party), Pierce Shield, Gate (Smaller
party), Shapechange (Smaller party).
- Don't bother with trying to set Traps with her.Other Stuff:
- Her Thief skills are not great but you can have her as your only Thief
and play throughout the game successfully. Just keep a few Potions Of
Master Thievery, Potions Of Mind Focusing and Potions Of Perception with
you in case you can't open a lock or something.
- She offers the Fighter stronghold (The De'Arnise Keep) whether she's
in the party or not.
- There is a mod which allows warrior classes to romances her here.

JanJan is the funniest character in BG2 (Along with Minsc).
His conversations with other characters are hilarious. If you have ToB
and your main character isn't a Thief, you will have to use Jan as there
is no other available Thief character good enough to run through ToB with.
You can equip him with the Crossbow Of Speed (Found in Underdark, +1 attack
per round) to give him two attacks per round and a melee weapon your other
characters aren't using. There is also the Firetooth +4 crossbow in ToB
which gives unlimited +4 fire bolts. I advise giving him points in Trap
Settings and other non-backstab related skills. The reason I say this
is because he is very weak and you won't get a lot of damage off his backstab
unless you equip him with a Katana or Scimitar. Even then, when you backstab
and come out of the shadows, he is very vulnerable (Unless you Stoneskin
him) and he will be the only person standing there ready to get beaten
(Unless you make him run behind your other characters). He is a good mage,
but since he is not a powerful character (In damage and HP) I advise keeping
him back with spells and a crossbow). Always keep a Stoneskin or so in
case he gets in trouble. In ToB, you will get advanced traps such as Spike
Trap which will do about 80 HP of damage average, making him a very effective
character.

ValygarComplaints: He's not a good Fighter and has the
personality of a rock.
He is a good fighter and is the "Strong, silent type"Equipment:- His family Katana is excellent for the beginning of the game. It's
+2, gives +2 AC against slashing weapons and additional bleeding damage
on each hit. You cannot backstab with it for some reason although you
can use other Katanas to backstab with.
- *Can't believe he's suggesting this* Celestial Fury is an excellent
Katana for him because of its many bonuses and you can backstab with it.
And he starts out with proficiencies in Katana so that's not a problem.
- There are many long/composite bows you can give him. The Elven Court
Bow +3 is a good choice due to its low strength requirement. With a proper
strength improving item, you can give him Ripper +2 and Heartseeker +3.
Also try the Mana Bow +4 later in the game and Taralash +4/+5 in ToB.
- There are a few good spears in SoA. Impaler +3 is probably the best
all around choice because it does a great amount of damage with the extra
+10 on each hit. The Spear Of Withering +4 is one of the few weapons in
the game which is +4 and it does relatively good damage. Also try Halycon
+1 which can be obtained early in the game and The Spear Of Kuldahar +3
(Extra 8 HP. Not that great but worth mentioning). In ToB, you'll get
Ixil's Spike +6, one of the best items in the entire BG II series.
- You may choose to wield daggers because there are a bunch of great ones
in SoA which can be obtained very early in the game. Pixie's Prick +3
is the best all around dagger for him (Save or be knocked unconscious
for two rounds). Also try the Stiletto Of Demarchness +2 and Fire Tooth
+3 for excellent ranged damage. Try Boneblade +4 if you need a +4 weapon.
- His family armor is fairly good during the earlier parts of the game
because of the AC, resistances and immunity to Charm. The Shadow Dragon
Armor will provide somewhat better AC. The Grandmaster's Armor +6 (ToB)
is excellent for him. It will increase him movement rate and provide great
AC. Also try the White Dragon Armor in ToB which which will give him the
best AC.
- You can Give him the Bracers of Archery unless you're playing him as
a dual welder which I will elaborate on later. The Gauntlets of Weapon
Skills, Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise and the Gauntlets of Extraordinary
Specializationwill increase his THAC0 and damage bonuses in all fighting
aspects.
- You'll want to give him a helm or Ioun Stone which gives an AC bonus,
especially if you're gonna use him to melee a lot. The Dusty Rose Ioun
Stone, Helm Of Balduran, Helm Of Glory and the Pale Green Ioun Stone are
useful. Otherwise just give him the Lavender Ioun Stone (ToB), Obsidian
Ioun Stone (ToB, Extra HP) or a helm which provides resistances.
- For a necklace, give him one of the many which provide MR or increases
saving throws. The Amulet Of Cheetah Speed (ToB) will increase his hovement
rate and let him cast Improved Haste a few times per day to increase his
attacks per round. This amulet works nicely in combination with the Grandmaster's
Armor.
- The Cloak Of Non-Detection will give him the edge while he is hiding
in shadows against mages will who cast illusion dispelling spells. Also
try the Cloak Of The Sewers a +1 AC bonus. In ToB you'll find Montolio's
Cloak which was made especially for characters like Valygar. It gives
+1 AC and saving throws and +2 to off hand rolls when dual wielding.
- If you're gonna use him as a frontline fighter, give him one of the
Boots Of Speed. You can replace it in ToB after finding the Grandmaster's
Armor and Amulet Of Cheetah Speed with the Gargoyle Boots (Immune to backstab,
Stoneskin twice per day)
- You definitely should give him one of the many strength girdles in the
game. It will give him to hit bonuses and enable him to use the really
heavy bows in the game which require 18+ strength.Battle Strategies:- You should have him scouting ahead of the party and getting the
first hit in (As a backstab).
- Spells you should use: Armor Of Faith and Dispel. You can never have
too many Dispels. Also consider Minor Spell Deflection and Miscast Magic.
- Armor Of Faith will reduce the amount of damage he takes by giving him
the following resistances: 20 to crushing, piercing, slashing, magic fire,
magic cold and magic damage and 40 to missile. This spell is stackable.
- There are two ways to play him: As a backup fighter/Archer or as a dual
wielding fighter.
Backup fighter/Archer:
- Your weapon quick slot setup should be a weapon to backstab with, a
long/composite bow and an additional weapon for bonus damage and extra
melee capabilities. You can choose from the weapons I've suggested above.
Here's a good combination: Celestial Fury to backstab with, one of the
bows and Impaler for post-backstab melee. It should follow the routine
of a hard and possibly stunning/disabling backstab followed by either
backing up and use the bow while another fighter takes the frontline or
switching to the Impaler or other damaging melee item and fight with it.
I hope you get the general idea I'm trying to explain: Powerful backstab
into damaging melee.
Dual wileding fighter:
- You should have his family Katana in his off hand or as one of the melee
weapons. Don't use it to backstab with. As I've said, it won't work. It
will do bleeding damage which will interrupt mages and slow down fighters
somewhat.
- You should have Celestial Fury or a blade he's proficient and can backstab
with as one of the main hand weapons.
- You should start with a backstab if you can. You get the edge of a damaging
start and as I've mentioned, can disable them.
- Again, you should have a disabling/damaging combination of weapons.
Or you can do both on both weapons. For example is Pixie's Prick to knock
them down and Celestial Fury to do damage and stun.
- Like a Thief, you can stock up on Potions Of Invisibility, backstab
and drink a potion to become invisible again to get another backstab off.
Rinse and repeat.
- As for the High Class Abilities in ToB, I advise you to give him many
Greater Whirlwinds to use with either his Bow or dual wielding. Tracking
is also a nice option. It shows the location of off screen enemies and
it's an unlimited ability.Other Stuff:He is crucial to getting into the Planar Sphere which
is the mage stronghold and has many spiffy items.